Skills for life

Skills for Life - Free Employability & Skills Courses

Develop the skills you need to participate fully in modern life, make progress at work and express yourself with confidence.

Whether you are a cleaner or a junior manager, office or construction worker, beginner or advanced level, our courses will help you develop the most in-demand workplace skills and at same time improve your general communication, English, ESOL, Data Literacy, Maths and Digital Skills. Our courses will also improve your skills and competences for life outside work from going to the doctors and filling out forms to talking about politics and discussing art.

Inside and outside work, in all types of jobs, at all levels, adults need to be problem-solvers, analysers, decision-makers, team-players, to see the bigger picture and be detail-oriented. Join our courses, online or face-to-face, and develop these universal essentials skills with our motivating, innovative and professional tutors.

What is the best course for me?

You need to do a pre-course assessment. You can also do it online, but a face-to-face assessment is best. 

  • Online assessment - click ‘Start Assessment’ on the course page
  • Or book a face-to-face assessment - call 0204 582 0423 or contact us by email at universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk for an appointment. You can also come without an appointment.

Times:

  • Every Monday 12- 2pm
  • Every Wednesday 6-8pm
  • Every Friday 11am-1pm (23rd August – 6th October)

Our in-person digital and computer skills pre-course advice and assessment sessions are every Monday 11am-1pm. We also have advice sessions on:

04/09/2023        Mon      11am – 1pm
06/09/2023        Wed      5pm – 7pm
08/09/2023        Fri          11am – 5pm
11/09/2023        Mon      11am – 1pm
13/09/2023        Wed      5pm – 7pm

 

Most of our courses are FREE if you are on a low income or claiming benefits. You will also usually need to do a pre-course assessment. For more details contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk or click the links below.

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  1. English pronunciation: stage 2
    Last Few Places, Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 16 Jan 2024 (and 3 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  David John Gwillim
    Designed for people who have completed ‘English Pronunciation: stage 1’ although new students with sufficient skills can join. Develop confidence and clarity, explore diphthongs and triphthongs, inflection and the rhythms of Standard English. This term the course will be taught online.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £153.00
    Rating:
    96% of 100
  2. Workplace communication with digital skills: English for the office and business (intermediate level 1-level 2)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 16 Jan 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Are you working in an office and need to improve your communication skills? Would you like to become an administrator but feel your written English is holding you back? This course will help you become a confident, flexible and successful communicator in writing, in person, on the phone and online. You will work on using the right language for written documents and for when speaking to colleagues, managers, customers, in meetings and on the phone. You will focus on different levels of formal and informal communication and how to speak and write clearly and concisely, with appropriate tone e.g. in emails and letters on a PC. You will also work on how to lay out key documents using Word, spell well and punctuate correctly. You will also start to learn about the cloud and how to use key parts of Microsoft 365. By the end of this course, you will confident you can work successfully in an office environment.



    Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 8078 0489 for information and to book a pre-course assessment. You can also click the Start Assessment button on this page.



    This course is FREE if a) you are on a Low Wage or b) you are either on Jobseekers' Allowance (JSA) or Employment & Support Allowance(ESA) or c) you want to get a job or progress into a better job and you receive other state benefits (including Universal Credit). For more information click here
    Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £45.00
  3. English pronunciation: stage 1
    Last Few Places, Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 26 Sep 2023 (and 4 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  David John Gwillim
    Are you a non-native fluent speaker who wants to improve your pronunciation of English and to speak the language more clearly and confidently? Work on clear formation of vowel and consonant sounds including the English neutral vowel and the distinction between voiced and unvoiced sounds. This term the course will be taught online.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00
    Rating:
    96% of 100
  4. English pronunciation: stage 3
    Last Few Places, Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 23 Apr 2024 (and 2 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  David John Gwillim
    Designed for fluent non- native students and all who have completed 'English Pronunciation' stages 1 and 2. Conversation and the reading aloud of a variety of texts will help to pinpoint those pronunciation worries still to be addressed.



    This course will be taught online.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £153.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  5. English Functional Skills (Level 2)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 30 Jan 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Do you want to develop your English skills and gain a qualification? Do you need to show employers you can read and write accurately? Do you want to speak well in different situations? If so, you may want to do a Level 2 Functional Skills English qualification. This is equivalent to a GCSE and often needed for work or education.







    The course will ensure you are confident in the three areas of literacy: Reading, Writing and Speaking, Listening & Communicating. It will help you to understand and use the English language in the most effective way for different real-life situations.







    Please note: You MUST pass the first 6 weeks of the course. You must attend every class and do the necessary homework. If not, you will not be able to continue the course.







    Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 4582 0423 for information and to book a pre-course assessment. You can also click the Start Assessment button on this page. This course is free for learners who meet the residency criteria and have not achieved a GCSE grade 4 (or C) and above or an equivilent Level 2 qualification in English.







    See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.



    This course is free for learners who meet the residency criteria and have not achieved a GCSE grade C (4) and higher in English
    Full fee £0.00 Senior fee £0.00 Concession £0.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  6. Maths functional skills level 2
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 19 Sep 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Do you need to gain a national maths qualification to show you have a good level of mathematical competence? Functional Skills Level 2 Maths shows employers and others that your maths skills are at a good level and that you can use skills to solve complex issues in a variety of situations. You will develop your maths to become a problem-solver, analyser and decision-maker.



    You MUST pass the first 6 weeks of the course. You must attend every class and do the necessary homework. If you do not, you will not be able to continue the course.



    You need to do a pre-course assessment. Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 4582 0423 for a face-to-face assessment or click the Start Assessment button on this page. Log on with your email address (not name).



    This course is free for learners who meet the residency criteria and have not achieved a GCSE grade C (4) and higher in Maths



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £0.00 Senior fee £0.00 Concession £0.00
  7. Maths skills for life and work - getting ready for functional skills (pathway 1)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 20 Feb 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Do you need to improve your everyday maths so you become more confident when making calculations with money, interpreting figures, charts and graphs in newspapers or measuring rooms? Do you want to achieve a functional skills qualification but are not yet ready? This course will help you with the essential maths you need to participate fully in society, make progress at work and solve everyday problems. You will work on tasks commonly completed inside and outside the workplace, which require the use of whole numbers, decimals and fractions as well as solving problems involving time, money and measurement. You will discover the properties of 2D and 3D shapes, how to read, interpret and comment on information in tables and charts. By the end of the course, you will be much more aware of how much maths there is in everyday life and how maths can help you.



    You need to do a pre-course assessment. Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 8078 0489 for a face-to-face assessment or click the Start Assessment button on this page. Log on with your email address (not name).



    Free course: This is a Multiply course. Multiply is a new government programme to help adults improve their numeracy skills. This course is free for Londoners aged 19 or over if you don’t have a GCSE in maths at grade 4/C or equivalent.
    Full fee £0.00 Senior fee £0.00 Concession £0.00
  8. Communication skills: read well, write well (level 1-level 2)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 5 Mar 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Learning how to write well requires learning how to read well. This course will prepare you for all types of writing but especially essay writing. Learn and practise how to answer essay questions by choosing what to read, how to read it and make notes, and then turning these notes into good pieces of writing with effective introductions and conclusions and well argued opinions. This course will be especially suitable for anyone wanting to study or who works in a job which requires good writing.



    You need to do a pre-course assessment. Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 8078 0489 for a face-to-face assessment or click the Start Assessment button on this page. Log on with your email address (not name)..



    This course is FREE if a) you are on a Low Wage or b) you are either on Jobseekers' Allowance (JSA) or Employment & Support Allowance(ESA) or c) you want to get a job or progress into a better job and you receive other state benefits (including Universal Credit). For more information click here
    Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £90.00
  9. Preparing for maths GCSE
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 9 Apr 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Do you want to gain a Maths GCSE but are not ready yet to achieve this in a single year? Do you need to test your abilities before attempting the qualification course? Then this Preparing for Maths GCSE is the course for you. It will prepare you for the accreditation and familiarise you with its content, level and expectation. You will need to complete and pass an initial assessment before starting this course to demonstrate at least a Level 1 Functional Skills level of Maths.



    You need to do a pre-course assessment. Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 8078 0489 for a face-to-face assessment or click the Start Assessment button on this page. Log on with your email address (not name).



    Free course: This is a Multiply course. Multiply is a new government programme to help adults improve their numeracy skills. This course is free for Londoners aged 19 or over if you don’t have a GCSE in maths at grade 4/C or equivalent.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £0.00 Senior fee £0.00 Concession £0.00
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